Sorry this took so long, peeps. And thanks to NoComment for reviewing and making me work for my living!



Alanna knelt before the fire, hands in the blaze. She looked through the flames, lips moving in a silent prayer. Images flashed before her eyes, each leaving an impression burned forever into her brain. Jonathan advanced to Numair, hugged him... a strange man laughed as he looked at the dying Queen... the same man, seated before a seeing-crystal in what was clearly a mage's workroom and equally clearly his... the man in Court, talking and laughing with the King and Queen... herself, crying... herself, holding Thayet by the hand... Thayet looked so well and strong! But why did she look so terribly weak... Duke Baird and his handsome, green-eyed son (What's his name? Oh yes, Nealan, of course. The oldest page in a century) healed a hazy figure on a bed... George in the Black God's temple, kneeling before the altar. She didn't want to see who lay there... the picture went, before she saw. And then there was just Alanna, kneeling before the dying embers with a tired mind that understood at last.

She knew what the gods had told her, but she didn't want to believe it. She said it aloud, trying to take it in.

"Numair is innocent. The culprit is the strange man, a mage, who is friendly with Jonathan and Thayet. I must... I must confront and defeat him, for only then can Thayet be healed. I will succeed in killing him and healing the Queen... but it will drain my Gift and ruin my own health and strength. The finest healers in the land will try to heal me, but none will succeed. I will die.

"But no! It grew hazy after the images of the man... then those events are uncertain! They are what will probably happen, but not even by the gods can it be clearly seen. For what I do will change the course of history afterwards. I am... what did Ali Mukhtab say? 'I am an instrument of the Balance. By my very presence I cause the scales to shift...'" She shook her head, ashamed of the tears in her eyes for her friend and mentor, and laughed. It was a hoarse bark, but it was a laugh. "That's what Ozorne was!" she muttered.

Kel was worried, because Neal was worried. And Neal was worried about the Lioness.

"I know she's using magic," he said. "A lot of magic. I can feel it... but why?"

"Perhaps she's trying to heal the Queen?" suggested Kel.

"No... she isn't in the Queen's rooms for one thing, and Father would have told me if she were, for another. No, it's something else. I just wish I knew why!"

"Curiosity killed the cat, Neal..."

"No, it's really getting on my nerves. All this power flying about. I might ask Father."

"Why on earth would he know?"

"If I ask, that'll start him wondering and eventually he'll give in and scry. Then he'll tell me what he finds out! I hope..."

"Oh well. Come on, you need to practise tilting!"

The Lioness' strange behaviour was the topic of choice at Neal's study group that night. By mutual consent they kept off the Queen's illness; Prince Roald was white and weepy. They knew he wouldn't be able to stand the mention of his mother, fighting desperately for her life with her pitifully meagre strength.

Kel was appalled to find herself yearning to comfort the Prince. She almost cried, watching him struggle to control a spasm of grief and worry.

"Is there a curse on us?" he cried suddenly, bitterly, after one such struggle when a throwaway gesture of Kel's had reminded him of Thayet. "Is the Queen never to be safe?"

"You mean your grandmother?"

"Yes. Queen Lianne weakened just like this! Is it another scheming mage?"

Neal forgot all that they had so carefully arranged. If his university training had taught him anything, it had taught him to take any opportunity for an argument! "He'd have little to gain. It's not like it was in your father's time, killing Lianne would have brought Roger much closer to the throne. But now... I mean, there are eight of you children! You, Kalasin, Gareth, George, Buriram, Liam, Lianne, Jasson... a mage would need to kill ten people to get anywhere near the throne. Unless he were acting for one of you..."

Cleon, Seaver, Merric, Kel, Esmond and Faleron stared at Neal. The prince thumped the table hard with his fist.

"No!" he cried. "I won't believe it! I won't!"

Kel had moved towards him before she realised what she was doing. "Easy..." she murmured. "Hush, now... he didn't mean that..."

The others looked at her, incredulous, scandalised and slightly amused. Kel blushed a deep and fiery red and hurriedly sat down. She hoped it was merely female instinct to comfort anyone in need of it... things could get very complicated if she were starting a crush on a friend!

It was midnight when Alanna unlocked her door at last. She shivered in the dark, but drew courage from the image of the mage laughing. She would do anything, anything at all, to bring this cold-blooded murderer to justice!

The Lioness crept out of the wing where her chambers were, wondering where to go. She needed to think and decide on her plan of action. Her rooms were spoilt for thought after the struggle of last night. It was too late to go into the city. The stables! Yes, they were the best place in the palace that fitted what she wanted.

Who could he be? she wondered, sitting in the blessedly-warm hayloft. And why is he trying to kill Thayet? If it were a bid for the throne, he'd have to kill nine other people, and that's just from the royal family because it's Maura of Dunlath next with her possible line and she couldn't be involved... if he were from Saren, why has he waited until now... if it were something to do with Jon... Suddenly, the answer came to her, trickled into her mind. Everything became crystal-clear. She felt as if she was floating in a tank... the world was sharply defined, totally real, but such a long way away.

"Of course." she said aloud. "It's Ozorne."

She knew that Ozorne was dead, of course, but she recognised his stamp on the matter. It wasn't a simple spell against Numair... it was a cunning plan to kill three birds with one stone. Not only that, but it would hurt Numair far more than if he were the butt of the spell. By weakening the Queen in such a way that nobody could cure her and Numair was the only suspect, he would crush the Queen and probably others of the royal family, destroy the King's trust in Numair and weaken Tortall for future conquest.

"A perfect theory, Alanna!" she congratulated herself. "Just one flaw: that Ozorne is dead, and any simulacra he may have had died with him. Anyway, he couldn't attach his Gift to a simulacrum. And, even if that hadn't been so, the man I saw was liked and trusted by the King and Queen as Ozorne or the seeming of Ozorne would not be. He looked nothing like Ozorne either!" She laughed quietly at her own stupidity. "Ozorne died a Stormwing, you idiot!"

Kel and Neal stood behind their chairs in Sir Myles' classroom. It was the day after Alanna's discovery, the day after that memorable study group, three days after - and this surprised Kel not a little, for so much had happened since then - the abortive peace talks with the spidrens.

Sir Myles came in. As usual, he was late. As usual, he was untidy. Unusually, he wore an expression of pain and anxiety.

"Sit down," he said, his voice lacking vitality, "and we will start the new topic: the Immortals War. Why did it begin? Yes, Esmond?"

"It was the old Emperor Ozorne, he let immortals loose into all the realms of the Eastern Lands, sir."

"Well, yes. He wanted to weaken them for future conquest. Why do you think he did it by degrees, not simply flooding the lands with the creatures at the start?"

The discussion went on. Kel's heart ached for the knight: he was trying so hard to take the lesson as usual and failing so dismally. When the discussion had erupted into a classroom-wide argument she took her chance. Neal knew all the gossip - he'd certainly know this.

"Why?"

"Alanna." he replied.

There was no need to say anything else. Kel mentally shook her fist at the Champion whom she so idolised. It was just too bad of her to cause all this pain!